Law and Disorder 1-29
The search for a man whose kayak capsized on 1/25 off Fernald Point, east of Miramar Beach, was called off at 3 p.m. on 1/26, after rescue crews working with the Sheriff’s Department and the Coast Guard failed to find him. Los Angeles resident Daniel Zembrosky, 24, failed to make it to shore, though the other passenger of the kayak did.
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Tipped off by a concerned resident that several teenagers armed with knives and a gun were on the Westside headed downtown, Santa Barbara Police detained youths on the 900 block of State Street on 1/23. Many were recognized as gang members and had been drinking, said police, who ultimately arrested five juveniles and one adult, 18-year-old Andres Trujillo, on charges including disturbing the peace and probation violation. None had weapons.
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A 1/24 dispute between residents of an apartment complex on the 100 block of Nectarine Avenue in Goleta escalated when 31-year-old Marco Obispo Morales allegedly displayed a handgun he had tucked into his pants. A 911 call resulted in the arrival of the SWAT team at 3 a.m. Officers forcibly entered Morales’s home at 11:30 a.m. to find it empty. Morales was arrested without incident when he biked home later that same day. (/swat129)
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Human remains found just south of Stubblefield Road in Orcutt on 11/28 belong to 26-year-old Santa Maria man Ronald Dean Cox, the Sheriff’s Department announced on 1/21. Cox had been missing since 2003. No statement was made about how Cox died. (/cox129)
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A Santa Barbara woman who on 1/22 answered her cell phone while driving on Highway 154 and subsequently careened 30 feet off an embankment served as a means for CHP to remind people to only use their hands-free sets while talking and driving. The woman and a passenger were taken to Cottage Hospital for injuries. Officer Dan Barba said CHP officers have cited 1,054 such scofflaws in Santa Barbara County since the law restricting the practice went into effect in July 2008. (/phone129)
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The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department is asking the public for information about a man who robbed two Goleta banks on 1/16. He allegedly robbed the Los Padres Bank at 197 N. Fairview Ave. at 5:30 p.m. and the Santa Barbara Bank & Trust at the Camino Real Marketplace at 6 p.m. He is described as being between 5²8³ and 5²10³, between 180 and 210 lbs. Those with tips should call 681-4150. (/robber129)
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The County Fire Department is investigating a 1/22 blaze at a residence at 6775 Pasado Road in Isla Vista as arson. Spokesperson Capt. Eli Iskow asked anyone with information about the incident to call 686-5074. (/arson129)
